Logos Versus No Logos
Check out the trading card below. It features former Rookie of the Year, Evan Longoria. Well, sort of. I read a propaganda article from Beckett Media yesterday basically feeding collectors the idea that MLB logos are not needed as long as there are plenty of autographs in a product. I don’t care how many autographs you throw in, at the end of the day a baseball card without logo is gonna look like Panini’s offerings, or worse …
I like Panini America and think they can eventually get their hands on an MLB license some day but as insignificant as they may appear, logos can make or break a product. Just ask all those products from the 90′s that tried to work their way around logos by including autographs in their releases. Anyone remember Classic Four Sport? I don’t think so. As for the card below, it is about as bad as you can get and comes from 2012′s World of Sports.
Leaf Versus the Internet
As much as I loved blogging during my heyday of Wax Heaven, I must admit that one thing I do not miss is the drama that comes from message boards such as Freedom Card Board. There is a level of immaturity and drama from the card blogosphere as well at times but doesn’t compare to the card forums. The latest comes courtesy of Brian Grey and a recent lawsuit filed by Panini America. This one is just getting started and has hit ten pages.
I for one have spoken out against Leaf many times over the past six months, especially when it comes to their cheap-looking Superfractor knock-off but have been impressed with their awesome autograph line-up in 2011 Legends of Sport. It makes Upper Deck’s similar offering of World of Sports look like an unfair fight. I hope Leaf can build up from this success moving forward. I cannot wait to see what they release next.
Love to Hate Topps Company
And then of course, there is Topps Company. I must admit it is surprising to see so much backlash over short prints, including a card featuring a squirrel. Of course, I have never been a set collector so finding a super short printed card like that would be a dream come true as it would mean lots of money to gain on the secondary market. To me this year’s Topps flagship looks fine. It’s no “game changer” by any means but it gets the job done.
I for one love the 1 of 1 wood parallels that are coming out of this product. The 14K solid gold cards don’t hurt, either. The day I pull a “gimmick” gold card of someone like Sandy Koufax and sell it on eBay for well over $2,000 dollars you can officially call me a Topps collector for life. Seriously, how can you go wrong with buying a couple of Hobby boxes of Topps in 2012? Collectors burn more money on terrible products every day of the week.
